True Texas BBQ — Restaurant in Austin

Definitely the best chain BBQ restaurant in Texas. Granted, when the comparisons are with Bill Miller and Dickey's, that's damning with faint praise.

The food itself is pretty legit. I tried the brisket and ribs. The fatty brisket is above average, although it might've benefitted from some more smoke. The St. Louis ribs are on point with a glaze that's both sweet and spicy. My dining companion enjoyed both her turkey and sausage as well as her creamed corn. We both tried the spicy sauce, which wasn't spicy, but had a good flavor for a BBQ sauce that's significantly thicker than most Central Texas BBQ joints. As for dessert, we tried the peach cobbler. If you like a cake style cobbler, it's pretty good. It would be even better if they had ice cream as an option.

Surprisingly, for a H-E-B operation, True Texas BBQ fell down on the little touches that can make good great. First, the cornbread. I'm a huge cornbread fan and love the sweet contrast with BBQ, especially ribs. I only wish I'd known that the cornbread was jalapeno cornbread. Also, it's pretty apparent that the plastic containers for the meat are pre-prepared. The lady taking orders asked if we wanted pickles, bread, or onions. I said bread only. My dining companion said pickles only. We both got pickles and onions -- and in almost the exact same amount, leading me to think the plastic trays were premade. (Also, on that note, the plastic trays for the BBQ are barely big enough to hold the meat, much less cut it.)

All in all, it's a great chain option -- and some of the similarities with any chain show up in the failure to execute on the...

First time experience and no customers in view. Placing order on kiosk and employee trying to be helpful explained that items will show not in stock if they are out of that item. 1 turkey sandwich, 1 brisket sandwich no pickle, 1 beans , 1 cole slaw, 1 plain baked potato. I complete my order and pay. After receiving my order and heading out door something did not seem right. Looked in bag and appears item short. Went back to counter and asked him to check my order in the bag. He did not see a problem. I ask where is the potato. Oh, we are out of potato he replied. Kiosk did not say that. I accepted a medium mac cheese to replace. Since employee does not know what an order should look like I inspected more myself. The brisket sandwich hardly had any meat, added pickles I asked to not be on it and left off any onions that should have been there. Once I get home to eat dinner I bite into my sandwich to find my brisket meat is refrigerator cold in the middle. The beans are room temp and cole slaw did not taste right, like spoiled. Threw those away. Please ensure your employees are food prep certified and trained. I have worked years in the fast food industry and certified. So disappointing when I looked forward to try their bbq and mad because I paid for...

I really enjoy the chopped brisket sandwiches! The corn bread is jalapeno cheddar and it's mouth watering good! Also the Mac n cheese is delicious! Wasn't a fan of the chicken, or brisket.. The potatoes are pretty good as well.

I have an update on this restaurant it's gone from four stars to three stars. They are frequently out of meats which is not a huge problem for me but I think for other people it could be a concern especially if you're trying to get something later in the day. I don't know if this is a permanent change but they changed their cornbread and the new one just looks like a generic square of cornbread which has absolutely no flavor it looks almost like it was pre-packaged it was pretty bad. I also tried the potato salad hoping for something good and literally it's just potatoes and a white sauce but not really much of any type of flavor. The people I usually meet at the window are very nice it's just I think that some of the food is overflavored and it's kind of a gamble just depends on how you like your meat but for me it's about a 3.5 star restaurant. Also don't forget that it is pricey people are talking about it being budget but it is little pricey especially being...